By Laura Wray-Lake, Ph.D. and Laura S. Abrams, Ph.D.

Included in this issue:

Abstract

In this monograph, Wray-Lake and Abrams examine what youth civic engagement looks like and how it develops among youth of color in high-poverty urban neighborhoods. The authors conducted and analyzed qualitative interviews with 87 youth of color in Rochester, New York. Exposure to violence was a prevalent adversity for these youth. While some youth responded to violence by disconnecting from community, others responded by becoming more civically engaged. For these youth, local, informal community helping was an especially common form of civic engagement. The authors identified four pathways of civic development: disengaged, personally responsible, safely engaged, and broadly engaged. The key factors distinguishing among pathways were civic empowerment and feeling heard and supported by adults. The findings from this work should be useful for a broad audience of scholars, practitioners, and policymakers with interests in civic engagement, positive youth development, and empowerment in urban communities.

About the Authors

Laura Wray-Lake

Department of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs

Laura Wray-Lake, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Social Welfare at at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Dr. Wray-Lake’s research focuses on how and why youth become civically engaged across adolescence and young adulthood using diverse methodologies. She is especially interested in mapping how civic development is unique for youth from different backgrounds and settings and documenting how experiences in schools, communities, and families shape youth civic engagement.

Laura S. Abrams

Department of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles Luskin School of Public Affairs

Laura S. Abrams, Ph.D., is Professor of Social Welfare and Department Chair at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. Professor Abrams’ scholarship focuses on improving the well-being of youth and young adults with histories of incarceration. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and award-winning books that use ethnographic and mixed methodologies to examine the everyday lives of youth and how policies and practices can support healthy transitions to adulthood.

Videos

Research on Civic Engagement among Urban Youth of Color: Goals and MethodsAuthors Laura Wray-Lake and Laura Abrams discuss the goals and methods of the research they reported in monograph, Pathways to Civic Engagement Among Urban Youth of Color [Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development 85(2)].